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Jade Dynasty
Jade Dynasty is a Martial Arts themed MMO from Perfect World. I found it easy to get going, and fun to play. The quests are straight forward to follow, there is a storyline and the leveling system saves the drudgery of grinding. Races and Factions There are two races: Athan and Human. Five factions or classes in the Human race and Four in the Athan race. Each faction has it's own skill set, look and strengths and weaknesses as you would expect. But they all progress through the story in the same way. Character Customization There are a number of customizations possible to the character as you build it. THe facial features can be quite different and there are different and imaginative hair styles. Although unless you hide the "helm" portion of the gear, you will find your hairstyle is taken over by the gear. As you can see the armor for some factions is quite interesting. Pets All factions have pets, two of which can be active at a time. The pet system is quite complex, but it's easy to use a pet and it levels automatically. Growing the pet to change it's appearance is however quite a complex and costly process that apparently can only be accomplished at higher levels. Pets either assist in battle or help gather loot, but given the automatic grinding and collecting of the Esper, it's not clear how much benefit loot collection with a pet can be. Auto-Grinding with an Esper All character receive an Esper in the first few levels from your Gift Box. Here you can see a Balo Warrior with an Esper and her free Mount from the gift box. Your gift box is available from the start of the game and opens to reveal new and useful items each five levels as you progress. The Esper, which you will receive two of from gift boxes as you progress, allow you to automatically fight and grind, and collect loot. Each faction has a unique esper look and skills. Like the processor of Ether Saga - MMO with Anime Look, the Esper takes control of your skills, and health and energy pots to automatically fight. As you do short quests that require only killing one or twenty monsters, it is still valuable to activate the esper since it automatically heals you, your pet and buffs your energy when you need it. Unlike the Ether Saga Processor, the Esper is free and never expires, although an energy crystal powering the Esper does run out every five days and must be replentished by asking for a new one from an NPC. Truely Free-To-Play Jade Dynasty uses the standard model of F2P games of having "micro-transactions", which in the case of most games are not really that "micro". Most games I've seen have upgrades, or costumes or character, bag or stash slots for same in the $2 - $10 range. Nicer costumes or mounts might cost as much as $25 or $30. Hardly "micro" in nature. Jade Dynasty however can be played without resorting to any of these expenses if you like. A basic mount, pictured above, is available from a gift box for 30 days and for sale in the game for 100G, which is not a large cost by the time you are level 75. If you play one character straight through, you will have no trouble reaching that level before your mount expires. Your bag - your characters carry storage - grows each few levels and so you will not need to purchase bag expansion to play the game. However your stash is quite small and you will need to manage it carefully. I have played the game to level 75 with several characters without resorting to any micro transactions. Quests and NPCs The quests are quite straight forward and either involve killing a few monsters using your Esper of course or long distance travel, from town to town via a Skylord transport service, or using your mount to save time. Along the way, both in the towns and outside of them you will find some very interesting and imaginative NPCs. Monsters The monsters are quite imaginative as well. Here are a couple of monsters from the Athan race world. Bottom Line Jade Dynasty is F2P, and you can get by with no money spent at all. But there are lots of nice things to buy - costumes, mounts and buffs - if you want to spend a little real money in the game. The quest system levels you quickly, to level 30 in about four to six hours of play. The drudgery of grinding is removed using the Esper, but the benefits of grinding allow the collection of loot and gold to progress in the game. Unlike Allods, the controls and features of the game are all present and convenient so you won't be confused as you start playing. The environments, monsters, characters and NPCs are imaginative and visually stunning. I highly recommend trying Jade Dynasty.